Memories of Mom
by Ayrton
Summary: Set shortly after 'Earshot'. Buffy suffers from the after effects of her psychic experience, her mother's thoughts seem to have gotten stuck inside her brain and these thoughts are all about a certain Watcher.
1. Chapter 1

"What's the matter?"

Of course he had noticed that she hadn't put her heart into their training session lately. The last few days Giles had actually been able to counter her attacks on occasion. Not only that, he had also scored a few direct hits himself.

Buffy looked up at him annoyed when he had brought her down with a surprise tackle.

She grabbed the hand he held out to her to help her up. He felt a tingle of satisfaction going through him although he knew that he was only kidding himself at the thought that training with his slayer actually improved his own fighting skills.

Something was amiss and he suspected strongly that Buffy's worries were somehow connected to her mother and Giles himself and the events that had taken place on the night when almost the entire adult population of Sunnydale had turned into mindless, irresponsible, rambling teenagers. The ones that liked chocolate, that is.

For Giles the whole thing was embarrassing enough and therefore he had chosen to ignore this dreaded episode in his life. It was only when he noticed Buffy acting strangely around him , that he had started to contemplate on how his young Slayer must feel about it. He was her Watcher, the trusted mentor, the responsible Tweed-guy and she had seen a glimpse of a Giles he desperately tried to hide; the juvenile delinquent who had trouble keeping his libido under control.

They had never spoken about it. Giles for the obvious reason that he was too ashamed about the way he and Buffy's mother had acted on that night and Buffy refused to even think about what might have happened between the two of them.

After Buffy's recent psychic experience however, Giles strongly suspected that she had picked up on something. He wasn't sure what. As a matter of fact he had been fairly certain that Buffy assumed that her swift actions had prevented her mother and Ripper from everybody's worst nightmare. Until she had informed Giles -in her own special way- of her knowledge of the fact that Giles and her mother had had sex.

Joyce had been the source of this revelation of course. Giles had been more worried about Buffy going insane, than about her finding out his deepest, darkest secrets but Joyce had been with her daughter during those distressful hours. When Giles had told Buffy's mother about her psychic abilities, her look had turned from worried to mild shock when the ramifications of his words finally sunk in. He instantly knew what her greatest fear was. He also knew that she would not be able to suppress her thoughts about it. The only advice that Giles had come up with was stupid and futile and had proved to be utterly useless. He had told her to keep her mind busy reciting poems or lyrics.

Buffy wiped the sweat from her face with the towel Giles had given her and they went over to his desk and sat down.  
"Is it school? "he finally ventured, firmly hoping that this was the case.

"No. Schools fine." She took a sip from the water bottle. "It's just..."

She sighed and looked at him with a resolved face, but her determination vanished when she met his uneasy glance just before he averted his eyes and concentrated on cleaning his glasses. His whole manner just begged her to drop the subject. She decided then and there to allow him his dignity by forgetting about the whole thing.

"I just haven't been sleeping very well, that's all."

"Dreams?"  
Shut up, Giles, she thought but said:

"Kind of..."

He cleared his throat and asked:

"After effects of the mind reading experience?"

He had avoided it long enough and something was clearly effecting his Slayer's concentration and fighting abilities and that he could no longer ignore. It might get her killed.

"Well,...Giles, ...do you know of mind readers that could actually...physically experience things that have happened to others?"

Giles digested this, simultaneously trying to determine what she was actually attempting to tell him. He knew she had been able to hear other people's thoughts but she hadn't told him that the thoughts were accompanied by strong feelings. No wonder she had gotten seriously ill.  
"You felt emotions, physically?"

"Not from everyone, " she replied. "I mean it was chaos in my head for a while, but that only confused me and exhausted me. It was not until you brought me home, I started feeling emotions too. I mean feelings that weren't mine, I'm sure."

"Maybe it happened because you were among people that are close to you."

"That's what I thought!" She said with a forced relief in her voice. She started to pack up her stuff when he stopped her.

"And...?"

"And what?" She gave him an innocent, lovely smile. If he didn't know better, she would have convinced him that she didn't have a care in the world.  
"Did you feel something something that was very distressing to you?"  
When she didn't answer a sudden fear came over him.  
"We did cure you, right? There's is just you inside there?"  
"Yes, Giles. I'm all on my lonesome again." She didn't sound happy.

"Then what's the problem?" He asked cautiously, not in the least expecting her whispered reply.

"You are."

That was out before she knew she'd said it. She hadn't meant to. This could only lead to more embarrassing moments between her and her Watcher and as much she liked to see him squirm when she said or did things that caused him to stammer...this conversation made her feel extremely awkward as well. She could see it already. Giles felt guilty right away and the poor man hadn't a clue as to what he was supposed to feel guilty about.

"_I_ am?"

"Well, mother really. They're her thoughts."

His heart skipped a beat. He wanted to look at her but somehow his eyes remained fixed on his hands that were industriously cleaning his spectacles. Not that he had to avoid her because Buffy was suddenly overcome with a shyness she had never felt in the presence of her Watcher before.

He felt it too and it startled him. Buffy never missed an opportunity to tease him with his flaws and always knew what to say to embarrass him the most.

Why was she suddenly considering his feelings? She'd had no considerations for his feelings or privacy last week when she had accepted his offer to take up training again by answering that they could work out after school if he was not too busy having sex with her mother. That sentence, so delicately delivered for the whole campus to hear still haunted him in his dreams.  
So why was she now suddenly so worried about his feelings? Or was she...?

"Are you sure we have to discuss this?"

It was wishful thinking that made those words come out of his mouth and he desperately hoped that she would relent and drop the subject for now. He needed time to think, to control his emotions and to decide on a course of action. When Buffy got personal with him his brain still had the tendency to walk out on him. He realized however that one vital part was left out in this train of thought; the lack of information about defining the problem. The only one who could provide him with this information was sitting here right in front of him, nervously and carefully avoiding his eyes.

" I don't know who else to turn to." She took another sip and shifted her feet. "It is kind a private, and..." the expression on her face turned to one he had only seen once before, just after she had killed a particularly nasty, ugly, slimy ,smelly, warty demon. "...gross!"

With a resolved gesture he replaced his spectacles and tried very hard to keep the stammer out of his words when he spoke.

" Eh...I gather this is ..errr... about your mother and me..." he cleared his throat. "..having ...sex."

There he had said it. That gave him the courage to face her again. Buffy looked at him as if he were the demon he'd thought of earlier and he did't have to be a mind reader to pick up on the silent "Eeeeuuuwww!" she telegraphed his way.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and was actually a bit surprised that he hadn't completely lost the ability of speech when he said;

"I know it was totally unforgivable, Buffy. But it was the chocolate. We weren't accountable for our actions. Y..Your mother was not responsible for the events that took place that night. Neither was I, I'm afraid. If you want to blame someone, blame Ethan and his magics."

"I know, Giles." she said quickly, " I don't blame anyone it's just that..." She looked into his sincere fatherly eyes and suddenly lost the nerve to tell him what was really bothering her.  
Instead she started babbling -about how she had felt when he had brought her home that day after having collapsed on the campus- in the hope that he might somehow fathom from her agitated account what she was really trying to tell him and what she couldn't get across her lips.

" I just freaked out when I started picking up on these sexual thoughts of... someone in the house. I knew pretty quickly that they were my mom's and I didn't think much of it, because, hey!, my mom's only human! Right? She has desires like any other hotblooded woman with a healthy appetite for the opposite sex...O God, did I really say that?"

The wide eyed frozen look of horror on Giles' face confirmed the fact that she had in fact spoken out loud. She took a deep breath and decided she was going to take this all the way.

"Anyway, I ignored it as much as I could. Little naive me! I thought I was picking up on some of the happier moments between my parents, but then I asked her to sit with me for a while and she refused and that's when I became suspicious ...and that's when I suddenly got this very, VERY vivid memory of ...of YOU Giles! And believe me it was not a memory of my own because I'm pretty sure I have never EVER seen you na..."

"Let's Rock 'n Roll!"

Saved by the bell! Or rather Xander who barged in with a Thank-God-It's-Friday-face, completely oblivious of the tense scene he had stumbled into.

"Ready Buffster?"

And that ended their conversation. Giles stood rooted to the spot and looked like he was about to faint.  
Buffy desperately tried to suppress a certain image from her mind that kept appearing.  
Xander took in the scene and said:

"Who died?"

Buffy was the first to gather her wits.

"No one, Xand, if you don't count the years I took off Giles' life just now."

That brought about a mischievous smile on Xander's face.  
"Maybe you should trade in crusty old Alfred for steroid muscle man Arnold." he said. "You ready for the Bronze then?"

"Yep!"

She gathered her things and left without so much as a word.

* * *

Giles regarded her deviously when he sank into her, shamelessly registering every moan, whimper and involuntary muscle twitch on her face in the process. Thus heightening his own arousal when he saw her innocent look change to hot lust. His eyes grew dark like gleaming coals with each movement he made inside her, thrusting slowly in and out.

She half opened her mouth and he covered it instantly, wet lips pressing hard against hers, tongue driving home into the hot wetness. She gave him more access by opening it further, her tongue tangling with his in a wild struggle to feel as much of each other as they possible could.

She knew he was losing control when he quickened his pace, thrusting deeper inside her, swelling rapidly. Then his body stiffened and he let out a muffled cry when he climaxed. Now it was her turn to watch shamelessly in his moment of pure joy and the beautiful glazed look on his flushed face alone was enough to make her co..

Buffy woke with a gasp. She felt the pleasant contractions in her lower body fading away and lay there for a moment, panting, before she realized what had happened. The joyful feeling turned into one of shock and at the moment her mother knocked on her bedroom door.

"Six Thirty!" she said through the door. "No more sweet dreams!"

Buffy's body froze.

Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh Gross!  
She'd been dreaming about Giles!  
She'd been climaxing dreaming about Giles! ...!

* * *

The moment she entered the library, Giles knew from the way she glared at him that they were in for trouble.

" Sl...sleep well?" He asked cautiously.

It was the worst thing he could have said, but Buffy restrained herself and started warming up, while Giles undid several layers of tweed and emerged from his office in an impeccably white T-shirt and his normal day-to-day slacks. She was very aware of his presence and tried in vain to keep her eyes off him. Before she knew it she had spoken her mind.

"Do you have to be...dressed like that?"

Giles without his Watcher uniform brought to mind all too many vivid images of the man in Buffy's dream. He had collected the protection-pads from the storage room and positioned himself opposite her.

"What would you have me wear instead?" He inquired, wondering why she suddenly took offense to his attire. He tried for a bit of humor in an attempt to brighten her spirits. "A tutu?"

She didn't smile.

Giles dreaded to start the training session. They would practice hand-to-hand combat today. He had enough trouble keeping up with her on a normal day and he didn't really care to find out how she would perform when she was really angry. Especially when he appeared to be the cause of her anger.

Buffy started with some kicking and boxing practice, using Giles and his pads as targets. She knew she was giving him a hard time. He was already sweating after a few kicks and a few minutes later his breathing was getting heavy, which seemed to fuel Buffy's anger even more. She kept having flashbacks of her shocking dream and a sweaty, panting, half-dressed Giles wasn't exactly helping her to forget the experience.

She was very annoyed with herself when it struck her that she was noticing these little things about him. Things she had never been aware of before. The way his hair at the back of the neck started to curl when he was perspiring, the way his lean muscles moved underneath the thin layer of clothing, the way he looked at her when she manhandled him, a combination of fear and awe that always crept up on him when he experienced Buffy's true strength.

Today Buffy noted all of those things and it confused her. Like the dream she had this morning. The term confused didn't quite cover her feelings about that. It freaked the hell out of her.  
She had never thought of Giles in that way. She was never the type that fell for the older guy. That was Willow's strong suit. But now everything had changed and she started blushing again at the thought that she had actually had an orgasm dreaming about him!

Ouch! Sorry, Giles!

That last thought had bundled all of her strength and frustration into one punch. Giles doubled over in a scream after he had taken a blow in the stomach. He fell to his knees, gasping for air.

"O, God, I'm sorry Giles!"

When she held out her hand to help him up, she caught the scent of musky sweat and aftershave that surrounded her exhausted mentor.

At that point Buffy lost it.

The vivid memory of Giles tongue entering her mouth (_her_ mouth, not her mother's!) made her scream out and shut her eyes forcefully to will these involuntary thoughts away. She dropped to her knees next to a stunned Watcher.

Giles was at a loss for words and he didn't dare touch her, afraid she might actually seriously harm him in this frame of mind. Whatever her frame of mind was. He couldn't read her anymore...

They sat silently for a moment.

"Buffy..?"

She looked at him and he was a bit taken aback by the hint of despair in her eyes. He had clearly underestimated her problem.

"Giles, I can't deal with this...I...you are my Watcher for God's sake...!" she seemed to choke on her words. "...I have these ...memories...these feelings about you in my head and they have no business in there. They don't belong there and it's driving me crazy...I can't stop thinking about ...it, Giles."

She avoided saying that she couldn't stop thinking about him, which was the actual truth. But she knew if she said that, he wouldn't be able to have a coherent thought for the next couple of days and then he would certainly not be clearheaded enough to help her. Things were confusing enough as it was.

He had no idea what it was exactly that she was talking about. It's one thing to pick up on other people's thoughts, but it is something entirely different when one actually feels their feelings...strong feelings..., feelings that kept popping up, triggered by a look, a smile, a smell, a touch and the Slayer had absolutely no idea how to stop it...or how to make Giles understand what she was going through.

Suddenly resolved, she turned to him, looked into his anxious green eyes and put it as bluntly as she could possibly get to make sure that he would understand the graveness of her predicament.

Her voice was very steady and deliberate when she spoke.

"Giles, I felt your tongue in my mouth and..." his eyes had already adopted the wide, foggy gaze that indicated that his brain was shutting down, so there really was no need for her to finish her sentence, but she did it anyway. "...I felt you come inside me."

By now Giles' brain had reached a complete overload and Buffy was fairly sure he didn't hear her last remark.

" Twice!"


	2. Chapter 2

The following days Watcher and Slayer avoided each other carefully. It was Willow who got them to talk. She'd overheard Giles talking to the Watcher's Council on the phone and she panicked when she heard him request a transfer.

When Willow told Buffy, she was even more surprised at her reaction.

"Maybe that's for the best." she sighed.

Willow grabbed her friend who was obviously suffering from a bout of temporary insanity and in a high pitched voice she demanded to know what was going on between her and Giles.

Buffy decided it was time to overcome her embarrassment and told Willow the whole story, leaving out only the parts she thought the young witch was not ready for yet. No need to shatter Willow's innocent outlook on the world by revealing to her that Buffy had actually climaxed while dreaming about her mother's sexual encounter with Giles. The memory of that made _her_ feel rather nauseating as well.

The censored version Buffy provided, already brought about a deep blush on Willow's cheeks, starting the very instant that Buffy mentioned the words 'Giles' and 'sex' in one and the same sentence.

"Willow, close your mouth."

Willow still had this wide eyed, shocked look about her long after Buffy had finished with the essentials. At some point in her story Willow's jaw had dropped. When she had found her ability to speak again she sounded a little hoarse.

"Joyce and Giles?" She cleared her throat. " B..but ..how...! They never speak! I always thought they didn't like each other."

"It was the candy, Willow." Buffy explained. "And they don't speak because they are both terribly embarrassed about having done the wild thing."

"O,...I see...O!"

"Anyway they're not the ones with a problem."

Willow was still not over it. "Giles..and Joyce...?"

Buffy grabbed her by the shoulders and said impatiently:

"Could we please skip the part where you are confused and panicky about the facts of adult life and head straight for my involuntary involvement in this whole sordid matter?"

"Yes,...yes of course." Willow tried to get a grip on herself and put on her resolved face.

"I'll help in any which way I can.", she promised sincerely.

"How do I get rid of these memories and feelings that aren't mine?" Buffy wanted to know. "Surely there's a chapter about it in one of your magic books?"

"Well, ...it ...sure!" She didn't sound convincing. "I...I...would...it would be..." She got stuck again and Buffy sighed impatiently.

"Willow! Help...?"

"I'd have to ask Giles. He's got the important books at home."

"O...H..hello..."

Giles felt as if he were standing stark naked in the hallway when he opened the door for the two girls. Buffy averted her eyes right away; dear God, what mental image of him was she trying to suppress right now? The startled look on Willow's blushing face told him that the girls had been talking.

"You..ehm...told?" He inquired needlessly.

"This burden is too heavy for a little Slayer alone." Buffy said and brushed passed him into his apartment. Willow remained motionless on the porch, as if glued there.

"Don't you want to come in?" he asked carefully.

A funny chill crept up his spine as he recognized the same look on her that he had also witnessed on his Slayer's face as he opened the door. He felt like a pervert and didn't know why.

"I won't bite."

"Uh...?"

"I'm a Watcher remember? Not a vampire."

That brought the sheepish smile back that made Willow Willow. She entered and joined the Slayer on the couch. Buffy came straight to the point.

"What's this about you resigning?"

Surprised that she had found out about that, he hesitated to answer. He had decided not to inform her too soon. Preferably wait until he was safely on the plane to England.

"I'm not resigning. I merely requested a transfer."

"You're resigning from _me_."

The hurt in her eyes was genuine and it moved him more that he was willing to admit.

"Buffy,...I thought that under the circumstances..."

"You don't solve my problem by running out on me!" she interrupted.

"I..erm, I'm not running out on you. It's just that.. I assumed that when you don't have to be around me anymore...well, your memory will fade."

"Giles, I haven't been around you for 3 days now and this has only led to 2 very vivid dreams about you and..." she hoped she wasn't suffering from the same red-squad attack on her cheeks as Willow did at this point. "...not only that, I'm starting to have daydreams too!"

"Daydreams?" Giles repeated whilst trying to ignore the fact that she had just admitted that she'd been having erotic dreams about him. He saw Willow eying him nervously and felt very awkward. Buffy however had gone beyond the point of being embarrassed. Desperation had driven her to facts, figures and common sense as long as her brain allowed it.

"You want a short synopsis?" she asked flatly.

Giles swallowed hard.

"No...?"

"Giles, this is serious. I don't think it is just a simple left over from the demon who infected me with telepathy. There's something inside my head that didn't go away when you and Angel cured me. It's not natural, understand? And what do we usually do? We research the unnatural, so let's get to it!"

That actually made sense. Up until now, Giles had been completely out of his league with Buffy's problem. Memories, feelings, bodily reactions, interactions,...stuff he knew next to nothing about. Now Buffy had brought him back on familiar ground and he felt a sparkle of hope that he might not be forced to leave her.

"Just let me get some books..." He said and started for the stairs. "I'll drive you to the library then. You can all help with the research."

Willow smiled from ear to ear as she watched him take two steps at a time.

"What's with the smile?" Buffy asked.

"Don't you just love it when he gets like that?"

"You really have a thing for him, don't you?"

"Yes."

Better admit what was obvious to the rest of the world, she thought. Well, not to anyone. She was fairly sure Giles was completely oblivious of that particular fact. She felt Buffy's eyes upon her.

"And what about Oz?"

"O, Oz is for real." Willow explained. "I wouldn't dream of thinking that way about Giles. But I'll probably always have a weak spot for him."

"Always?" Buffy had never thought about Giles that way up until now. And she knew it was only the quirk in her brain that was causing it.

"Is that so hard to understand? He's got the nicest eyes, so kind...did you notice the color? They're emerald."

Willow noticed Buffy's look of total lack of understanding. The witch was well aware of the fact that other girls went for physical attraction but Willow had not yet gotten passed the more platonic admiration for the Watcher, so she added quickly: "And his body is in good shape too, surely you've noticed that what with the two of you working out in the library every day."

As a matter of fact, Buffy had noticed that, even before the telepathy incident.

"And his voice...it's so..."

"British..?"

"I just love the way he talks. No one can deliver a sentence like he does. No one can make something simple sound so..."

"..complicated..?

"...interesting. "

Buffy nodded knowingly. Interesting usually meant complicated, she thought.

"And have you ever noticed how wonderful his 'Mmmmh?' sounds when he is so absent minded that he missed out on the conversation?"

"Yeah! I love that!" Buffy said, smiling. She loved to tease him at that point by saying completely inappropriate things.

"Well, Giles should consider himself lucky with the two of us. You're interested in him for his mind, and I seem to be lusting after his body these days. I wonder what my mom would say about that?"

Giles descended slowly with a pile of books, reading the one on top. They could tell he was already miles away and the two girls exchanged a mischievous look.

Buffy jumped up and said cheerfully:

"Shed your clothes, Giles. We decided on a threesome!"

Willow, flaming cheeks still in place, chuckled and Giles looked up from his reading.

He regarded them with a puzzled look and said:

"Mmmh..?"


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy had never known how dull research work was. She usually wasn't around when it had to be done.

She lay slumped in her chair pretending to read, while she was actually observing the man who was sitting across from her over the rim of her volume of Magic Spells.

Giles' stamina was admirable. He studied chapter after chapter and the only sign that might indicate some sort of fatigue was when he occasionally removed his spectacles to rub the brink of his nose. Buffy watched him as he did it now; eyes closed, slender fingers massaging slowly, the other hand went through his hair, leaving it tousled.

Buffy felt a tingle in her belly when he leaned back in his chair and stretched his limbs. He had taken off his jacket, unbuttoned his vest and when his hand went for the upper button of his shirt, Buffy rose from her seat as if on cue and went over to him. She invaded his privacy without hesitation, began to loosen his tie and undid the first two buttons of his shirt. Her eyes never left his and in them she detected no sign of resistance. She sat down on his lap, straddled him with her Slayer-strength thighs. The sudden closeness startled him a bit and he nervously glanced sideways to Willow, who was going through the stacks in the library. The young wicca returned his glance and gave them a brief smile before she buried her nose into a very large book.

The fact that Willow didn't seem in the least bit bothered by what happened right in front of her, should have made Buffy think twice. But she didn't. Didn't want to. Instead she was contemplating on what to do first; kiss Giles senseless or rip his clothes off.

Without further ado she followed her instinct, held his head with both hands and pressed her lips against his.

He didn't respond, but that didn't stop Buffy from laying all her passion; all her lust and a lot of promise into that one kiss. They were both out of breath when she released her hold on his lips, looking searchingly into his eyes and found there the permission -or was it a plea?- to do it again.

This time, he not only responded; kissing her back seemed to unleash a totally different man. He devoured her. Tongue forcefully entering her mouth, tangling with hers. Hands roving over her body, finding her breasts, kneading them, fingering the nipples that hardened under his touch. She felt the other hand between her legs, his thumb stroking her sex through her jeans. And through all the layers of cloth, she felt his arousal pressing against her bum.

When they released each other reluctantly it was only for lack of air. She looked into his green eyes; they really were the most beautiful emerald color. Buffy's heart pounded in her ears from the sudden surges of blood that filled sensitive body parts with tingles and tickles.

She didn't catch it at first when he spoke to her.

"What?" she sighed, still a little out of breath and released her hold on his eyes to take in the expression on his face.

He seemed changed somehow. There was no sign left of the man that had so passionately smothered her with possessive lips and suddenly there was a lot more distance between them.

"Did you find something?" Giles asked again, still sitting across from her with a leather bound book in front of him. This time he glanced at her when she didn't answer.

Buffy had a startled look in her eyes and she was blushing all over. When she had a quick look around to verify her whereabouts, Giles knew she had zoned out into her own special world. And from the look she gave him, he gathered that he had probably played the role of the leading man in the scenario that had just taken place in her mind.

"Are you alright?" He said, removing his glasses to avoid seeing her flushed face.

"Yes.", she answered way too quickly and hid behind her book.

"Do you...shall I...had I better leave?"

"No, I can deal with it."

Giles wished she would not be so considerate of other people's, well.. _his_, feelings. The fact that he knew that she was suffering from compulsive daydreams about him made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. He would rather be anywhere else than with Buffy right now. Every time she looked at him he felt exposed. Literally.

"I think I might have something here, Giles."

Willow approached the table with a heavy book and put it on the table with a thud.

"There's a passage here about mind reading and all the stuff that can go wrong...It's in German..."

Giles put his spectacles back on and studied it carefully.

"It seems that thoughts can get stuck in your head..." he summarized, "...and they can over-stimulate certain parts of the brain." He looked up at Buffy. "In your case it seems that your mother's memories are stimulating your...eh pleasure center?"

"I've had enough pleasure for a century." Buffy stated coldly. "How do I get rid of it?"

"Right." He studied the book again and started translating. "Here's something...It says that the easiest way to stop compulsive thoughts and memories that are not your own is to actually act them out. Thus the memory becomes real and will be stored in the proper place inside the brain, erasing the very similar false memory in the process...and thus preventing over-stimulation of that certain part of the brain."

The silence around him had become almost tangible. He looked up into the highly flushed face of Willow who was looking at him wide eyed. A combination of expectation and doom on her face; eagerly waiting for the penny to drop. Buffy had her I-just-saw-a-warty-demon-look on and was as white as a sheet.

And then his own words made the connection in his brain and he froze; brain walking out on him again...

* * *

Two weeks had gone by in which Buffy's health deteriorated rapidly. She was literally exhausted from her own bodily reactions that crept up on her without so much as a warning. She hardly slept these days and that seemed to increase the number of waking dreams she had.

Whenever she saw Giles, she zoned out and even when he was not around, she was subject to daydreaming. Watcher and Slayer limited their time together to a minimum, always under supervision of Willow or Xander, who would snap her out of it as soon as they recognized the signs.  
Giles didn't dare touch her at all. He kept his distance and was even more business-like than usual.

They discussed the possible remedy of course. For Giles however, the whole idea was out of the question. It was a violation of the Watcher/Slayer codex, not to mention a violation of the trust a Slayer should have for her Watcher. Even though he knew that this would save Buffy from going mad, he couldn't bring himself to 'helping' her the way the book described. It would change their relationship for good. His plan of action was to do more research until he had found something that would cure her in a less unconventional fashion.

Buffy had agreed with him of course. She stated that having sex with Giles -Eeeewww-face- would be like having sex with her father, but deep in her heart she knew she was talking gibberish.  
She was having her way with him several times a day in the close confinement of her mind and that felt as real as if it had actually happened. No amount of distance and courteous behavior could change that. The funny thing was that she wasn't bothered by that anymore. She had come to see Giles stripped to his bare essentials. Not as a mentor, not as a father-figure, not as a teacher, but as a man. And he wasn't all that bad...

Something however had to be done and her Watcher really wasn't the one capable of making the right decisions right now. Buffy decided to take matters into her own hands and discussed this with Willow.

"Giles will never agree to...to..." Willow was not at all comfortable with the subject at hand. She'd had a crush on Giles from the very beginning but it had never evolved into lusting after his body. Now Buffy's 'problem' forced her into that aspect of the man.

"Yes I know, Willow. Giles would never take advantage of me. Maybe the time has come for me to take advantage of him. If I want to remain sane."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I _am_ the Slayer. I can use a little Slayer strength when I have to."

"You mean you would..." The r-word lingered in the air but Willow managed to avoid it. "You're going to force yourself upon him?"

"That sounds very pathetic.."Buffy pondered, "But if I have to do that to prevent me from going bonkers...yes, that's what I'll do."

"But...but...how do you know if it will work? The book _did _say you should re-enact the memory, not invent a new one." A sudden disturbing thought crept in her mind. "Your mother didn't force herself on Giles, did she?"

"No, silly!" Buffy said and then remembered something. "She did cuff him though."

Willow's eyes grew wide in horror and Buffy regretted that she let that slip out. No need to push Giles further off the pedestal. To Willow, he was still this well-bred, distinguished, impeccably dressed Brit. No need for her to find out about the youthful offender with a heavy Cockney accent and a one track mind. No need for her to know that dream-Buffy had cuffed Giles to side mirror of a police car countless times and had done things to him she would not even admit to under extreme torture.

"You're right." Buffy said and let out a sigh of disappointment. This had been her best idea. She was at the end of her tether. "We won't get anywhere if Giles doesn't co-operate."

Willow smiled suddenly from ear to ear.

"What if I can get Ripper to co-operate?"

"Uuh?"

"We can give it our best shot."

"With magic?"

Willow nodded.

"Blackmail?"

After a disapproving look, she nodded again and said simply:

"Candy."


	4. Chapter 4

"Buffy!"

Giles broke out in a cold sweat when he opened the door to reveal his Slayer. Alone.

"Hi, Giles!"

She sounded as cheerful as ever.

"Where's Willow?" he asked suspiciously.

"She'll be right over."

"Xander?"

"He's away on an errand."

Buffy had sent him away with the request to hijack a police car as soon as possible. Xander had regarded her with an inscrutable look on his face but managed to leave without ever once asking what she needed a police car for. Things had been very strange lately and he only hoped that his stealing a police car might contribute to returning to normal life for Buffy. Normal being slaying vicious vampires and teasing her Watcher without the obvious sexual undertones that even the full blooded male in Xander made vaguely ill.

"Aren't you going to ask me in?"

"No."

"Giles..!"

"You can wait outside until Willow gets here."

And with that he closed the door .

She couldn't blame him, really. The last time they were together, Buffy had gotten so caught up in a daydream that she'd started groping him until Willow had snapped her out of it.

Buffy had passed the stage of being embarrassed about her behavior long ago. It worried her though, that there only seemed to be a thin line left between dream and reality . In her mind she knew every inch of Giles. The original memory that had gotten stuck in her injured brain - the one her mother had telegraphed to her when she was ill- had mixed with the twisted fantasies her brain had brought forth since. She could not distinguish between fact and fantasy anymore when it came to her Watcher.

It was perfectly natural for her to touch Giles intimately or to say terms of endearment to him, when in actual fact this was highly inappropriate. She kept telling herself that all the things she felt about him weren't real, that they were caused by an over stimulated pleasure center, but that became harder by the minute. Fantasizing about him was no longer enough. Her body was aching for actual physical contact and occasionally she had acted upon her feelings to the horror of those present not to mention her object of desire. It was confusing and frustrating and it was slowly driving her crazy.

She knocked on the door again and he opened. Reluctantly.

"Giles, I'm sorry about the groping."

That was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of. His self restraint as a man had its limits and anyone who assumed that Giles was enough of a gentleman to ignore Buffy's behavior was a complete and utter fool. He was not made out of stone. His emotional life had been in turmoil the last couple of weeks and to add to the confusion: he was starting to react physically to her presence. And here she was; beautiful and sweet, standing on his doorstep, begging to let her in.

"I promise it won't happen again." she lied.

Against his better judgment he let her into his home without the obligatory escort. He knew he had made the biggest mistake of his life the moment he shut the door. In no time he lay sprawled face down on the carpet; arms were pulled behind his back and Buffy was all over him. He panicked when he felt cold steal close around his wrists and two clicks confirmed that he had just entered the live version of his worst nightmare.

He tried a futile outbreak, but stopped struggling when the soft tingle of her hot breath touched his ear.

"Giles, I'm gonna let go now, so you can get up."

She got off him and helped him up.

They stood there silently for a minute. Giles, quite tense, ready to defend his honor, well _their_ honor, to the last breath. He eyed her tentatively.

"Don't worry," Buffy assured him calmly. "I'm not going to jump you again."

Yet.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Sit down, Giles."

"I will not move a muscle before you bloody well explain yourself."He said firmly and turned his back to her. "Will you please get these handcuffs off."

She grabbed the cuffs and dragged him backward to the couch. He tripped over his own feet and landed softly in the cushions. He tried to scramble to his feet, only to have Buffy push him down again.

"Now you're gonna sit still and enjoy." she ordered.

He held his breath in fearful anticipation as he watched her take something out of her pocket and point it toward him.

"Have some chocolate."

-

When Willow finally walked in on them Giles was still on the couch amids countless empty wrappers and Buffy was feeding him chocolate. With her mouth.

Giles was ogling her, clearly not in the mood for games. Buffy sat on his lap, straddling her unwilling victim to keep him in place. She held a piece of chocolate between her teeth and was tempting him with it. Teasing with the candy around his lips and when he didn't budge, pressing more firmly until he opened his mouth and took the candy from her. He chewed reluctantly and gave Willow a thunderous look.

The witch carefully avoided eye contact when she informed Buffy -who seemed completely unaware of her presence- of their progress.

"We're just waiting for Xander to call now, and then we're on our way."

"This is a very bad idea, Willow." Giles said with his mouth full. It couldn't disguise his graveyard voice, though. He had recognised the candy the moment he tasted it and had a fair idea about what they were up to.

Buffy was clearly enjoying herself. She started covering Giles face and neck with featherlight kisses, sending tickles through his body that made it very hard for him to concentrate on finding a way to persuade Willow to set him free.

Willow couldn't stand the sight any longer. She headed for the kitchen to make some tea. She saw no need to save Giles from the attentions of his Slayer. They were supposed to do it anyway, so she allowed Buffy her...foreplay. Giles would probably strangle them when this was all over, so it was useless to convince him of the fact that it was for the greater good but that they all felt pretty awful about it.

"Buffy, maybe you should leave Giles alone..." She tried a feeble attempt, while putting the kettle on. "The idea is to re-enact the false memories...not to create new ones. Remember?"

"I remember..."Buffy said dutifully and continued to kiss Giles' earlobe while pulling the shirttails out of his pants and sliding her warm hands underneath, longing to feel every inch of him.

Giles desperately tried to conjure up an image of his ugly old auntie Deidre to fight the sensations she was unleashing. He had lost control over his body the moment she'd sat down on his lap and to his horror he'd felt himself start to erect. Buffy was so caught up in her own game that he was certain she hadn't noticed yet, but the fact that she was touching him everywhere, exploring him in search for the most sensitive spots, didn't exactly diminish his predicament. Any minute now she would notice the hardness pressing against her bum and knowing Buffy, she would find a most humiliating way to confront him with that in front of the wicca.

Willow made as much noise as possible in the kitchen so she didn't have to listen to the smacking noises and the involuntary moans and sudden sighs.

A panicky out-call for her name made her return to the scene in the living room where a very distressed Giles frantically tried to wriggle away from underneath his Slayer.

Buffy had lifted up his shirt and was now following the trail of the light, curly hairs on his belly with her lips. Slowly moving downward, along muscles that instinctively contracted, where the result of her attentions was clearly visible underneath the thick cloth of his trousers.

Willow grabbed the Slayer forcefully by the shoulders and pulled her of the couch.

"Will you stop doing that!"

Buffy looked puzzled from Willow to the cuffed Watcher and it was only then she seemed to notice his state of undress.

"O. I didn't just only daydream, did I?"

Willow nodded.

Buffy straightened Giles' clothes for him, which only aggravated the situation because she touched his crotch in the process. She did not have the presence of mind to ignore the state he was in and her 'Ooops' was out before she realized it. She looked at him sincerely and apologized.

"I really, _really_ am terribly sorry Giles."

"Why don't you go and make tea." Willow suggested. " I'll feed him."

Giles was now totally embarrassed and had turned as red as the cushions on his sofa. Helpful Buffy was not doing the situation any good. Buffy was reluctant to leave, but after having put one of the cushions in Giles' lap with an apologetic smile she obediently went to the kitchen.

"I would have thought the candy would have done its magic by now.", she said pouting.

Willow took another candy bar from the table, unwrapped it, broke off a piece and offered it to Giles.

"Willow please put a stop to this." He started, relieved that he was now dealing with a sane person. "This is going to be the biggest mistake in all our lives! I will..."

A bit of chocolate was pushed into his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Eat." she ordered and then she remembered whom she was talking to and felt her cheeks turn all warm and red. " Please..?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on, luv. Take the cuffs off then."

Ripper sounded reasonable, but Willow was rather worried that he might be faking it and do her some serious bodily harm once he had his hands free. She was still not quite convinced that Giles had made the full change into his younger alter ego. She had never had the chance to meet Ripper.

She also took into consideration that the band candy might not have the desired effect and that Giles was just pretending to be Ripper in order to gain their trust. Willow couldn't tell...

Buffy on the other hand had no doubts whatsoever as to the present identity of her Watcher. She had her arm around his waist and clung to him like a Siamese twin. This Giles was giving her dark ambiguous looks full of promise that made her belly go all funny. This Giles kissed her in front of the others. On the mouth. This Giles checked out his looks in the shop-window for God's sake!  
She didn't require any more assurance. This was Ripper in the flesh.

They'd met up with Xander after his call. Their friend felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing. He'd parked the stolen police car on the dimly lit, deserted parking-lot of a hardware store. It was 11.30. Buffy and Giles had the whole night ahead of them to re-enact whatever it was they had to re-enact.

Willow had explained it to him but his mind failed to take in more information after she mentioned Buffy, Giles and making out in her first two sentences. The words kept repeating themselves over and over in his brain like a broken record.

"So, what happens now?" He asked Willow in a tense voice, finding it very hard to concentrate while behind her, Buffy and Giles were involved in activities that were very uncharacteristic for a Slayer and her Watcher. Willow seemed to be the only one with her wits about her and that made him very nervous. This time they could not count on Buffy's strength, nor on Giles' keen mind. His mind had turned to jelly.

"From what I learned from Buffy, we're just about set." Willow said. "The only thing missing in this scenario is the policeman who tried to arrest Ripper."

"Was he important?"

"O, it's just that Giles beat him up and that impressed Joyce."

Xander's mouth fell open.

"_Giles beat up a cop_?"

"Yes. His hormones must have rocketed, because after that, he and Joyce...well,you know..."

"I think his hormones are approaching the planetary nebula of Saturn right now."

Xander said nodding in the direction of the odd couple. He was kissing her, using the weight of his body to shove her against the wall of the hardware store.

"What's he doing with his tongue?"

Xander wondered in horror and turned to Willow to see the expression on his face mirrored in hers. She looked like she had eaten a maggot.

Suddenly Xander sprang into action when he saw Buffy unbuckling Giles' belt and fiddling with the buttons of his trousers. He grabbed Giles by the shoulders and pulled him off her under protest of both Slayer and Watcher.

"Alright G-Man, let go of my girlfriend."

Buffy started giggling but Giles eyes were full of fire and expectations.

O, God, he _wants_ to fight me! Xander thought. He's challenging me!

"What d'ye think y'r doing?" Ripper said in his thick London accent. He crowded Xander, who could feel the Watcher's breath on his face. He smelled of chocolate and up this close he suddenly seemed a lot bigger.

"You ..." Xander couldn't find the right words, because what he was about to say was not exactly true. More the other way around, but then he decided that it didn't matter. The whole point was to follow the scenario, so he said it anyway. "You were practically raping her! You pervert!"

"And what're you gonna do about it, Nancy-boy?"

"I'm going to stop you." Xander said threateningly calm. He felt like a natural in the role of the hero defending his true love's honor.

"You would 'it a man who can't defend 'mself?"

That threw Xander off balance. Of course a true American Hero would not hit a man with his hands cuffed behind his back. He hesitated a moment, trying to figure out what to do next. He never saw Giles' knee coming. He did feel the pain in his groin. He felt his legs buckle under him and after a blow on the head he hit the asphalt. Hard.

"Stupid Americans.", he heard Giles say. "Always wanna fight fair."

Willow rushed over to him to help him up. His head was pounding and the world spun round.

"What did he hit me with?" Xander wanted to know.

"His head."

He looked into Willow's sympathetic eyes -four of them right now- in total confusion.

"And it's still in one piece?"

"You did very well, Xander." Willow said, while leading him to the car. "We've got him right where we want him."

Xander was thankful that the wicca ignored the fact that Giles had taken him by surprise. She left his dignity intact by pretending to understand that he had let Giles win because the scenario said he should.

She helped him in Giles' car and they drove off. The last thing Xander saw before they turned the corner was very disturbing and would probably haunt him for the rest of his natural life.

Buffy, slumped over backward on the hood of the police car with Giles' bigger body molded into hers, entangled in a firm embrace, kissing each other passionately.

"His hands are all over her." He unintentionally said out loud.

"Good." Willow said, trying to banish the mental image of what Giles and Buffy were about to do. "She un-cuffed him then."

"You think!?!"

Xander was certain Willow's brain had also turned to jelly.


	6. Chapter 6

Buffy used her Slayer strength to pin him down on the hood of the police car. The man underneath her lay suddenly very still when she closed the handcuff around his wrist and attached the other end to the side mirror of the car. There was that look again; awe and fear.

And in that moment Buffy knew.

"The candy didn't work, right?"

Her look burned right through him and Giles knew his lie wouldn't stand a chance. Not with what they were about to do.

"It lost its power the day after Halloween." he admitted.

She looked at him sincerely but was actually not sure if she would let him go when she asked her next question.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"I want to help you get better." He couldn't believe that he would say this to any woman he was about to have sex with. "If this is what it takes..." His voice trailed off as he saw her producing another pair of shiny bracelets.

"Your mother didn't use two pairs..." he commented feebly when she cuffed his other wrist. He eyed her uneasy. He had lost the ability to read his Slayer since the telepathy incident and found that very unsettling.

"That's right Giles, but now I know that you are yourself again...or always have been...I have to take precautions. I don't want you to walk out on me now."

"Well, one handcuff would have sufficed.", he said dryly.

When he and Joyce had been playing this game it had been dangerously exciting and new. It was their second joining and he'd played along with her out of guilt because he had taken her rather selfishly without regard for her needs. So he'd allowed her to cuff him but he had known all the time that he was in control of the situation.

Somehow Buffy had chosen this episode of their amorous night to re-enact. This time he felt very not-in-control. And being in complete possession of his wits, he was subject to all the usual panicky questions.

What if someone walked in on them? They were a sitting target for any wandering vampire. What if a copper drove by? What if the whole bloody re-enactment thing didn't work. And what the hell was she going to do to him?

He knew what Joyce had done, but he doubted Buffy would keep to the given scenario. He doubted even if she still knew what the original scenario was. She'd admitted on several occasions that her mind had devised a range of scripts of her own and she was no longer able to tell the difference.

Buffy had finished cuffing his arm to the right hand mirror of the car.  
The manner in which she moved toward him bore the disturbing resemblance of a predator closing in on its prey. Giles eyed her with growing concern. He was not used to being completely at the mercy of someone and had trouble repressing a similar experience that came to mind. An experience that would be with him for the rest of his life and involved one of Buffy's closest friends.

Buffy's clouded mind was totally unaware of the mixed feelings she unleashed in her Watcher. She enjoyed the hint of fear in the gentle green eyes and her arousal heightened because she realized that she was the cause of it. She nudged his legs apart and settled herself against him; molding her body along his, softly saying:

"I appreciate you doing this, Giles."

"Erm.. pleasure."

That sounded rather awkward given the situation. He lay spread eagled across the cool hood of the car and felt like a lamb about to be slaughtered. She must have noticed the tremble in his voice because she couldn't help feeling a little annoyed when she spoke next.

"Courage, Giles! Close your eyes and think of England!"

He did close his eyes to steady his nerves but they shot open the instant he felt her hands on his belt-buckle. So far she was following the original scenario and he tensed up.

"We don't have to do this part!"

The panic about what she was going to do made him forget to stutter. He made up for that in his next remark.

"I'm...sure...we'll get...equally good results..um without this part."

"Giles, have you been watching Oprah again?"

"What...?"

"I want to Giles." said his pupil with a resolved face. " I want to do this because I think it is very exciting and intimate and I feel privileged that you trust me with this."

He nodded automatically, unable to speak. It wasn't at all the reason why he had said it.

Buffy never considered the fact that _he_ might not be comfortable with it. She just assumed that he being a man, he might find it degrading for her. That was not the reason at all.

Giles had enjoyed fellatio before -the last time had obviously been at the 'hands' of Youthful Joyce- but on those occasions he had either been drunk, drugged or under the influence of some sort of spell. Buffy would actually be the first woman to perform this very intimate act while he was in complete possession of his senses and it felt a bit like losing his virginity.

It scared the hell out of him.

He couldn't think of a more intimate act between two people but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to fully enjoy it. The fact that this was Buffy didn't exactly do wonders to make him feel at ease. He always found that a woman who did this for her lover, submitted completely to the man and he couldn't think of a less convincing subject for submission than Buffy. And with that came another quality no other woman in the whole wide world possessed and which blotted out the whole submissive idea; Buffy's strength.

That and the fact that he clearly was the submissive party in their little role playing game sent shivers down his spine.

She didn't fail to notice how uncomfortable he was with this.

"This is actually the first time I'll be doing this.", she admitted , hoping to make him feel more at ease. Her voice was filled with excitement though, when she revealed to him what her deepest wish was right now."...I'd really,..._really _like to taste you."

He knew her words should flatter him but the fact that she spoke just those words, saying _really_ with so much emphasis, reminded him of Angelus who had said that word in exactly the same way when he announced that he hoped that Giles would not tell him the secret of reviving Acathla, because he _really_ wanted torture him.

It paralyzed the Watcher and he completely lost the ability to speak when Buffy slowly pulled down his zipper. She wriggled down his pants with ease and touched his throbbing member through the fabric of his briefs. To his own amazement that certain part of his anatomy seemed to be immune to his condition, because it jumped to attention under her touch.

She stroked the length of him teasingly but her kiss spoke of lust and need, tongue forcing entrance between his paralyzed lips, frantically seeking the back of his throat and the teasing turned to grabbing when she pressed her hand firmly in his groin. His vocal cords were functioning just fine and he let out a loud whimper, a combination of lust and pain, which urged Buffy to kiss him even rougher, biting his lower lip.

He couldn't do anything to stop her. Not physically for obvious reasons nor by way of reasoning. The thought that this was his Slayer made his hormones go in overdrive, leaving him prey to a body that betrayed his common sense.

She lifted up his shirt and with her warm, wet lips she began to trace a path over his tense belly, along the trail of curly hairs leading downward to his trapped manhood. It took an act of will to finally be able to stutter her name and she stopped mercifully.

"Please un-cuff me..." He looked very sincere and very desperate. "..I..I want to make love to you...properly."

"O, I don't know," she teased while slowly lowering the waistband of his shorts, revealing more hairs she could trail. "I think we're doing just fine. I kinda like you this way."

Suddenly the amused smirk disappeared from her face. She looked startled into his pleading green eyes at the sudden revelation that she was cured.

She tried to remember what came next when her mom and Giles had made out but she couldn't remember. Had never known.

Giles saw her change and assumed that it was because of what he had said. That he wanted to make love to her properly like he had been wanting to do ever since his Slayer had suddenly turned into this desirable woman.

He had noticed the change in his pupil exactly two weeks ago when she had told her Watcher about her vivid dreams. That's when he had begun to see Buffy with totally different eyes and found that he couldn't stop thinking about her.  
He had never denied that he had strong feelings for her. She was the most precious person in his life. He had however been mistaken about the nature of these feelings. Last week he was forced to admit that it wasn't a father's love he had for her.

After carefully analyzing these feelings he had come to the conclusion that he loved her and wanted nothing more in the world than to _make_ love to her.  
That's why he had requested the transfer. That's why he refused to help her regain her sanity in that way. It felt like he was taking advantage of her. It would have been so easy to fulfill his own desires but a sexual act forced upon them by circumstances wasn't exactly something he would cherish the rest of his days.

He wouldn't want to make love to Buffy - God! This scenario could only have taken place on a Hellmouth!- in the line of duty. If ever, and he knew the possibility was a remote one, he would want it be born out of mutual desire.

While Giles was pondering he became aware of the fact that she was doing the same.

Buffy hadn't moved a muscle and looked straight through him.  
What should she do?Tell him she was cured and stop doing what she so clearly enjoyed doing? She had gotten over the initial shock that she was actually contemplating on having sex with Giles when there was no need for that anymore. She felt the excitement about going through with it growing in every part of her body. She _wanted_ to make love to Giles!

These weren't hormones talking in a body that was already on edge because of their foreplay. It was her heart that made her realize that she actually would regret it for the rest of her natural life if she had to stop now. And moreover; it didn't feel awkward at all. She knew what she wanted. She wanted Giles. All of him.

"Buffy are you all right?"

She looked up into his worried eyes. Good old Giles. Always concerned about her well being even when her hand rested on the prominent bulge in his briefs.

"Yes, yes I'm okay."

She removed her hand and decided she couldn't go through with it. Not now that she was cured. The whole exercise had served its purpose and it wouldn't be fair to play charades to satisfy her needs. She was already lifting herself off him when it dawned on her.

"What did you say just now?"

He felt the pleasant pressure of her weight return on his body.

"What..?"

"Just now, you said something about making love to me."

She gave him a scrutinizing look and he answered without so much as a stutter.

"I said: please un-cuff me because I want to make love to you properly."

She stared at him blankly and when she spoke she was not able to keep the disappointment out of her voice when she softly told him the truth.

"Giles I'm cured."

"...O.."

There was a long silence between them in which they tried to read the expression on each other's face.

Was that disappointment she read in those green eyes? Sure, the look on his face was one of embarrassment. Who wouldn't be embarrassed; pinned down on a police car in a state of undress, not to mention a state of arousal. But underneath that uncomfortable look Buffy detected something else and the idea that Giles might feel the same as she did right now, both shocked and elated her.

How come she had never noticed him before...in a guy sort of way and how come she had never noticed _him_ noticing _her_ before? They trained together; he had seen more of her than her own mother. They went on patrol and he tended to her wounds, touching her in places that would be considered extremely inappropriate for a teacher. But never once had she noticed an 'accidentally' misplaced hand or a stolen look that might indicate deeper feelings for her.

Of course when things got beyond the business level, the nervousness had always been there and the stutter. But that was because he was ever the gentleman and Buffy knew very well that he felt very uncomfortable when he was forced to discuss private matters or when he had to touch her when he felt that was 'not done'. And in Giles' book a lot was 'not done' when it came to Buffy. And thus he had never allowed Buffy to see the man behind the watcher. If the events of the last week had proved anything to her, it was the fact that Giles was not just Watcher-in-Tweed Giles but that he was Full-Blooded-Male Giles.

While these thoughts danced around in her head, accompanied by very confusing feelings she suddenly heard herself say:

"Do you still want to make love to me?"

She could tell that the question came as a total surprise by the way he held his breath and only remembered to breathe when oxygen became an issue. Subconsciously she had been doing the same. He hesitated, searching for the answer on her face. When he looked into her eyes he saw there a fragile nervousness and a gleam of a plea.

"Yes..?" he almost whispered it.

"Properly?" This time she smiled mischievously.

"Oh, don't I wish!"


End file.
